1 February 2019, Wesselsbron to Hoopstad, 47.5km
Nel’s Rust R400

The very nice Pick n Pay in Hoopstad employs a man with a “lat” to keep beggars from harassing shoppers as they approach or depart! He did, however, allow Charl and I to sit on the pavement and consume an early lunch of chips and spicy chicken.
On today’s relatively flat ride, we caught up with a threatening storm, or it caught up with us. Either way, we got wet. It’s odd how seldom we allow ourselves to get wet in a storm. It is not unpleasant, so I suppose it is the inconvenience of arriving somewhere dripping inappropriately that stops us from embracing the weather. In general I don’t like cycling in the rain as the reduced visibility makes it more dangerous out there. But today, what traffic there was on our narrow road was careful, and although there was thunder off to the south, there was no lightning to frighten us. We passed out of the storm in time to be predominantly dry when we arrived in Hoopstad.
One tends not to associate toothache with cycling, but here’s the thing… My butt is so chafed, that sitting on it - an unavoidable necessity - is almost unendurable. The pain is so intense that my entire body tenses in resistance. This has created a knot at the base of my neck, and a jaw so tight my teeth ache. Eina!
Motorists toot and wave their greetings, and when possible give us a wide berth. I was cycling some distance behind Charl when I saw he had been accosted by a man in a bakkie. Jan Coetzee has a farm and guest house, Clearwater, about 10km east of Hoopstad. He stopped to ask Charl “Hoekom ry jy van die tannie weg?” (“Why have you ridden away from the auntie?”) and to offer us any assistance we might need in any of the Free State “dorpies” (small towns).
So much for our kevlar-lined puncture-resistant Mondial tyres. We bought these tyres because we had read that they can go up to 12,000km without a puncture. We awoke this morning to a flat; my back wheel had been breached by a common or garden diwweltjie (thorn). Bugger!

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above...